Quotes From Wednesday's Football Press Conference
October 27, 2004 | Football
Oct. 27, 2004
Audio Clips
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Head coach Bobby Petrino and selected players made themselves available to the media for the weekly football press conference on Wednesday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. They discussed U of L's 41-9 win over South Florida last Friday and the 14th-ranked Cards' upcoming road game against Conference USA foe Memphis. Kick off between the Cardinals and Tigers is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 4 at the Liberty Bowl and the game will be televised by ESPN.
Following the Memphis game, the Cardinals will return home to host C-USA rival TCU on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and will be the final in four straight U of L games to be broadcast by the ESPN networks.
NOTE: The Cardinals (5-1) continue to hold the No. 17 position in the Bowl Championship Series Standings released on Monday. U of L is ranked 14th in this week's Associated Press Top 25 Poll and 16th in the ESPN/USAToday Coaches Poll.
On the South Florida victory:
"It was a real good game for us. I was happy with the way our players came out and got real excited about the game in warm-ups. They obviously did a good job of preparing for it. I'm proud of our defense. I was looking forward to seeing how they would respond after the second half of the Miami game. I liked the way they practiced all week and it was good to see them come out and play with confidence, energy and speed."
"Offensively, we continued to execute well running the ball, but not as much as we would have liked to. Stefon was real accurate, and the receivers made a lot of plays and we were able to run it effectively. We would have like to have pounded it a little more, but they kept putting nine people in the box."
"Our kickoff coverage was very good, and I think we are improving there. We don't get enough opportunities for kickoff returns, so we've got to spend some extra practice time there. I'm still not happy with our punt game. We've got to doing a better job of punting the ball where we're supposed to punt it. We'll keep working on that."
On the next opponent, Memphis:
"They're a good football team. The quarterback is real experienced and knows exactly what he's doing. We've got to try and slow down their running back and get them into third-and-long situations. They have good receivers. I thought Cincinnati played real fast and aggressive and kind of took the quarterback out of the game a little bit."
"Defensively, they play a difficult scheme. They're going to come after us and blitz and play a lot of man coverage. They're not as experienced as they were a year ago. I thought Cincinnati did a good job of running the ball right at them and being very patient. Last year we made lot of mistakes, and it was a game where we didn't execute and make plays. We had opportunities to make plays and didn't do it, so we've just got to make sure that that team doesn't show up again."
"Offensively, they have 10 out of 11 starters returning from a year ago. They have a real good scheme, they execute it very well and it will be a good challenge for our defense. We've got to do a great job of preparing for them and playing our style and being aggressive."
On whether the loss to Memphis last year will help make the players be more focused this year:
"I think so. I think our players will be ready to go. Physically, they are taking care of themselves and getting better. They've been in studying the video and they're excited about it. They know it's big game. Going into the season, we looked at this as being one of the big games of the year, and we certainly didn't like the way we played a year ago."
On how the string of nationally televised games has helped the program:
"I think it's been good for us. It's been good for our recruiting. We've got some really good players that we're recruiting. Some are jumping on board and some are committing to visits. We've been able to play well when we've been on T.V., so we've just got to do it again. It's good for our players. Their families watch it, and they get a lot of feedback. You get excited for a nationally televised game, there's no doubt about that."
On Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams:
"He's really good. He's so quick and he's got such a strong lower body. He has great vision and can catch the ball really well. He's got a bright future."
On Memphis quarterback Danny Wimprine:
"I think he's a good quarterback. I always have. He understands their scheme really well. He gets the ball out of his hands real quick. He can make the long throw. He presents some challenges."
On U of L senior TE Adam McCauley:
"He's done an outstanding job. He helps us a lot in the running game. He understands the offense extremely well and we can do a number of things with him. His ability to catch the ball puts a lot of pressure on defenses. He's getting a lot more confident, too."
On success leading to rumors of his candidacy for other head coaching jobs:
"I think it is challenging. It's sometimes hard on me and my family. I don't want to have to answer questions every time my name comes up. We're 5-1 and we've got a great opportunity to have a super season."
"I always try to talk to the team and face it (the rumors) straight on. I told them, if my name pops up it's because you guys are playing so well."
On U of L sophomore RB Kolby Smith recovering from injury:
"Kolby's doing good. He ran last night, and got a little fatigued fairly quick...I think by Thursday he should be able to do just about half the practice and then full-go by Sunday. Kolby's a guy I rely on, he knows the offense so well and can do so many different things. He has a lot energy for the offense."
On the success of U of L senior QB Stefon Lefors:
"He's certainly gone out and performed well. He's done a good job of moving the ball around really well. He does a great job of moving the ball around and taking what they give him. He's very calm and he's seeing everything. It's coming real easy to him right now."
On the input he has on the non-conference schedule:
"We (he and U of L A.D. Tom Jurich) work extremely hard on that together. We're anticipating that in 2006, it will be a 12-game schedule, so we're hoping that happens."
